I glossed over the interview with Fukuda in the latest issue of Gundam Ace and decided to write up a summary. He brings up a few interesting points I feel a lot of the Japanese sites omitted. So, here we go:

• Fukuda says that while it’s true that the project stopped for a while, all was not lost as Sunrise producers were working on it behind the scenes. It was supposed to be announced in 2012 when the HD remaster was coming out, but the scenario wasn’t finished at that point. So, they elected to wait before making any announcements.
• The scenario is “almost” finished. What he means by “almost” is that the writer and director have finished writing the scenario, but there are still some details that have to be hashed out from various parties involved, making sure it complies with the times, and checking of expressions. He’s still waiting for the “final draft” to be signed, but he’s already started working on the storyboards since he has nothing to lose in doing so.
• Says that enough has already been done with DESTINY, so it’ll be a continuation of that. He’ll leave the expansion of that point in time to others in spin-offs.
• He says he rewrote the scenario that his wife had created. There were more drafts than he knew about, so he had to sift through them to find out just what she had in mind. He had to figure out what he could and couldn’t use. He says he talked at length with his wife before she died so he understood quite well why she was unable to finish it. He kept writing, stopping, analyzing, re-writing. The dilemma was that if he didn’t write, then SEED would never end.
• Part of the issue is that instead of creating a story, he was just replacing what the characters were thinking with a scenario. Even if the scenario was written first, the characters wouldn’t be acting according to that, so if he forced them into these roles, they wouldn’t be the characters that everyone knows. Anyone can write a story, but its the characters that weave the story, so if their actions aren’t well thought out, the drama won’t be very interesting.
• He sorted out the overlapping parts, read everything together as a whole and then picked out the parts that could be used. Talked about how it’d be interesting to have 20 Kira clones and have them fight against one. The idea was to create a “fake Kamen Rider.” If Kira, Athrun and Shinn were there, they’d be one hell of a force to fight, but in the end it was just weird to have 20 “fake Kira,” so he wondered if Kira could be cloned like Rey, so that’s when he started.
• The writers are the ones that put everything together. Fukuda just picked out the parts that worked.
• Reuniting the staff from 20 years ago shows just how much times have changed. They’re aiming to match the connection with DESTINY. Having something that never existed suddenly appear would be strange.
• I can’t tell what he’s referring to, but he mentions couting up all the mobile suits and there’s something like 100 total. When he said he wanted them to all be CG, the staff just recoiled in fear.
• Reiterates that while he has no intention of adopting the scenario to the present day, he does plan on adapting the mecha and battle direction to today’s standards. He thinks that recent Gundam designs are complicated and full of pointy parts and doesn’t think that’s Gundam at all. He think it’s important to rethink the concept of Gundam. Returning to the past is good, but also being able to differentiate itself from other shows is what makes SEED what it is.
• Talks about the hybrid of CG for battle scenes. Main staff is returning: Shigeta, Hirai, Okawara. Emphasises his disdain for colossal mecha. Says he wants to create a formidable enemy (suit) like how the Aegis was to the Strike. If they don’t clash with one another at an even level of performance, they won’t be able to show their full potential. He’s discussing here how ridiculous the Destroy looked. Big and mean, but easily taken out in the end. Doesn’t want that again.
• Talks about how he had difficulty depicting the enemy. Says that while unmanned AI fighters are quite possible, if the enemy were to use them, then it’d just be an asymmetric battle. Says that he believes this battle fill be a continuation of the direction they’ve been taking so far (how SEED incorporated modern battles of the time). Says that while taking down an opponent is important, but tactics and methodology in doing it have changed. Says that it’s not like they can defend or attack by building and deploying more and more high-performance units. The era of materialistic attacks has come to pass and cyberspace has become the main battlefield for modern warfare. He thinks it’ll be interesting how they’ll incorporate these things.
• Goes back to emphasizing how today’s society has people who are offended by certain extreme expressions and discriminatory phrases. Companies are intimidated by these voices (aka the complaining). It’s a difficult balancing act. Wants to go where he shouldn’t go to try and get people to open up to other ideas yet doesn’t want to be forced to compromise.
• When people called into question how people had to wear helmets when riding on a bike (in Super Cub), Fukuda said that children had to cross the road in a cross walk EVEN IF THEY WERE RUNNING AWAY FROM A MECHA ATTACK. They had to obey traffic laws, ya know? If it was in Japan, they had to. Outside of the country, they’re fine. SO weird.
• Says that he feels that dangerous ideas and organizations will grow in power during these difficult times, as militarism and fascism emerged during economic turmoil. There is poison behind the pretty words, and ideals are sometimes used to hide ulterior motives. He doesn’t trust anything that is decided in a confusing and undiscussed manner.
• The movie will be a conclusion to the series. Fukuda says that he thinks the theme song by Nishikawa is something that was already agreed on. Everyone already assumed that he’d sing it, so if he says that he’s not, well then fans would riot. Says they probably still have to offer that option to Nishikawa.
• Says he didn’t know that the SEED movie was trending on Twitter.